Empty Spaces

I recently saw a sign in a baby's nursery that said "A baby fills a space in your heart that you never knew was empty". That is definitely true, however, a more accurate statement might be "a baby fills a space in your HEAD that you never knew was empty". You see, before I had kids, I was...well...judgemental. I just automatically assumed that when I had kids, they would be perfect and I would be their flawless mother. In my arrogant oblivion, I kind of just thought that parenting came naturally and that those who had challenges regarding their kids just weren't really working that hard. I remember telling my friends that my future kids "would be disciplined". I don't even think I really knew what that meant, but I said it anyway. Having children has been an awakening, to say the least. There is nothing else in life so far that has given me the education that my children have. I guess one of the things that has kind of surprised me is that while I've been good at most everything I've tried in life (except for maybe sports and chemistry), I'm just not automatically good at being a mom. I'm impatient, selfish, easily frustrated, and I don't do well on no sleep. Yet, for some reason, they love me anyway. I think children see us as God originally made us--without sin--and that is what is so beautiful about them. They see us as we are meant to be, and love us unconditionally through our mistakes (just as our Heavenly Father)...and while it's crazy hard to live up to that, it provides a challenge of character that I've never before been met with in my life.
I think becoming a parent also teaches us to love one another without judgement. In the past four years, it has definitely become apparent to me just how judgemental I used to be. Therefore, I vow the following:

I will never again become impatient with a screaming toddler in an airplane/bus/church/grocery store...I'll just be thankful it's not my kid this time.

I will never judge another parent on the cleanliness of their house or the stickiness of their floors...instead I'll go home and scrub the syrup off my own floor for the 9,674th time.

I will never assume that just because a child has dirty fingernails that they have not bathed recently...kid's nails grow REALLY fast and they love to play in mud.

I will never assume that the parent of a child who is throwing a tantrum is doing a bad job...I'll just remember the time when Hannah...

I will always hold the door for a mother who is struggling with three kids and a stroller...because I'll remember all the times I've been stuck between two doors with three kids and a gigantic stroller with no one to help me.

I'll never assume that parents don't make mistakes...I'll remember the time I accidentally dropped my cell phone on Hannah's head.

These are just a few...and I'm sure as the years pass, and the spaces become filled, I'll have many more vows to add.